Alayna Kulesza '22 Recruiting Profile

Basketball has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember.  My love for the game started in a small park district program, and soon after my elementary years, I quickly began to realize that basketball wasn’t just another sport that I loved, but a way for me to release my mental and physical energies, and a way for me to grow as an individual and teammate in high pressure moments.  Over the years, I've grown in my coachability as a player and student of the game, learned how to manage myself and others in high stress situations, and discovered how to be a leader both on the court and off the court.

One of the things that makes me unique is that during my early years I was the shortest player on the court, and so I really focused on developing my ball-handling skills as a point guard.  Now that I've grown to be one of the taller players on the floor, I'm continuing to play the point and am thankful for the opportunities that my height gives me in such a position.  In addition to my height and ball-handling, I have several other traits that I believe will really add to a competitive college program: (1) my speed which I can use to blow past defenders, explode to the basket, and create open looks for my teammates, (2) my ability to know when to pass the ball or to take it all the way to the hoop, and (3) my aggressive mentality on defense, whether it's forcing turnovers or blocking shots.

A goal of mine coming into my sophomore year was to become comfortable attacking the rim and drawing contact.  I grew a lot in this area, getting to the line for 110 free throw attempts, many of which were “and-one” opportunities.  For this coming year, I have three goals: increasing my 3 point and free throw percentages, looking for opportunities to post up my defender, and finding ways to use the strength I've been building in the weight room during the pandemic.  The change in schedule has allowed me an opportunity to really experience and understand the value of weight-training, and I've grown to love the challenge as I enjoy charting my growth in bench, squat, deadlift and several other exercises. 

I currently don’t have a particular plan as to what I wish to study in college, so as of right now I’m just focusing on all my classes and keeping an open mind to future careers that interest me.  My ultimate goal in this basketball experience is to bring glory to Christ, because he deserves all the honor and praise for whatever I accomplish in my life.  I am so excited for what the future holds for me, and I can’t wait to compete at the college level!